Raga Megh Malhar: Madhya Bandish in Jhaptal

Raga Megh Malhar: Madhya Bandish in Jhaptal is a khayal performance recorded by Hindustani classical vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan. The track appears as the second composition on the album Raga Megh Malhar, released on CD by India Archive Music in 2002.

The performance spans 19 minutes and 7 seconds and adheres to the Megh Malhar raga, a monsoon-associated melody in the Hindustani tradition. Khan renders the madhya laya (medium-tempo) bandish set to Jhaptal, a 10-beat rhythmic cycle. The recording captures his interpretation of the raga’s characteristic phrases, including the komal re (flattened second) and shuddha ma (natural fourth), with elaborations in the vilambit (slow) and drut (fast) sections.

The album Raga Megh Malhar focuses exclusively on the eponymous raga, with Khan accompanied by traditional instrumental support. The label India Archive Music specializes in archival and contemporary recordings of Indian classical music, though specific session details for this release remain undocumented in available sources. No additional artists or instrumentalists are credited in the provided context.

The track exemplifies Khan’s approach to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, emphasizing intricate taan patterns and emotive phrasing. The recording preserves the oral tradition of khayal through a studio production, maintaining the improvisational essence of live performance. Further metadata on the accompanying musicians, recording location, or production personnel is not confirmed in the given information.